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ItsaBanana

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Everything posted by ItsaBanana

  1. No these are not anti-static. When working on the internals I use anti-static tools and all within an esd work bench etc. I should have clarified that. I certainly in the past killed a few GPU's and HDD's not following correct protocols.
  2. Sadly the UK is a very wet and damp nation. Not rare to find cars up in Scotland with extreme weather wear that are only a few years old. Many won't buy cars from Scotland. Just rains loads here and living right beside the Atlantic oceon, Irish sea and North Channel, our cars endure a lot of salt in the air.
  3. Well had the car to be looked at yesterday by a great mechanic in our car club and turns out the knocking noise from the rear is the upper suspension arms rusted and snapped on passenger side. Ten year old car so expected. On driver side rear, we have a crack in the spring on very bottom. So time to shell out a few hundred more. Damn car has cost me over £1,000 ($1,800) in past 5 months. Had new alternator, new fuel pumps and let me tell you, BMW have a two fuel pump system. When one goes, the other goes with it. Lower engine mount replaced and few other things. Plus two new higher end tyres on rear. Hopefully this will be the end of those little repairs for a year. So what you got needing done to your ride?
  4. Lovely having the kids help out. My little girl is 4 years old and love electronics. I have taught her how to solder and make simple circuits to light up LED's with a 9V battery. Thanks for sharing.
  5. Man, bow hunting would be awesome. I never got around to it but worked with a guy once who use to travel up to northern Minnesota and bagged some bears a few times a year. Very fatty jerky from that. Guns. I had one 9mm Kel-tec P11 model I believe for conceal carry type size and had to return it after a year of use. It cut my hand up bad everytime. Always left the range bleeding. Kick back took layers of skin off and even a local cop who worked there tried it and had same issue. Probably was best for a female as my wife had no issues. Number one handgun was a Glock 22 in .40cal. That was a fantastic weapon. Never understood those who bought the huge Desert Eagle lol. Like a canon with a handle. Now living in the UK, we are not even allowed a BB gun.
  6. Well, I got a few moments to take some photos to show the difference between the CK Tools (made in Germany) and the Bahco (made in Spain) VDE drivers that are tested to European and I believe international standards for up to 1000V. The largest difference is mostly the handle and how it fits in your hand. The CK Triton have ridges that are suppose to make it fit your hands better. However, I have pretty large hands and find it would fit a smaller hand better. I reach for the CK Dextro range instead mostly as they are smooth and fit all hand sizes. You can see the Dextro ones in my photos. Both the Bacho and CK feel well made. Very strong and stand up to good use. You can push down hard and both grip and strength is there. Both feature the black/carbon colored steel. The plastic on the Bahco feels harder and more slippy but not slippy that you would lose grip. So a different plastic is perhaps used. I find the Bahco tips to be smaller than the CK. More narrow. The flat heads have more curve as it leads into the tip. Both work as expected. Work wise, I honestly do not feel or notice any difference at all but that could come down to how you use your tools and your work environment. Mine are mostly used in computers/servers and installation of networks and electronic work where a lot of force is not really required. Both driver sets retail at around the same cost. I paid £18.50 for the Bahco and £19 for the CK. Here are some photos.
  7. So far from todays use, it is pretty good. No false readings. Had it in a few computers around motherboard and power supplies and picking up the volts. Also tested it at home on known live plugs so forth and lights up good. Paid 24 British pounds and happy enough with it that I will be going back to get a few more.
  8. My understanding is that it is simply the handles/grip that is different. My CK tools offer two types of VDE with exact same safety ratings etc. Only difference is the Triton drivers handles are designed to fit a hand and the regular CK Dextro are smooth. I think that is the same with the red vs orange Bahco. I could be wrong.
  9. This is my first set of Bahco VDE and they feel very good quality. The grip is nice. The handle feels smooth yet strong. The tips of the drivers feel well made. Between Wera,CK and these new Bahco, I do not notice much of a difference. Handles are unique in their own ways but overall qaulity when working with these three brands feel no different (to me anyway). I can push down hard if needed and they just feel solid. All are within same price range, here in the UK anyway. I will post up some photos later of the Pozi head differences. The CK drivers are slightly more chunky I think than the Bahco. I will have to check that out later.
  10. Well, I just been to my supplier to see the Milwaukee gear and came away with a Klein votlage tester and a set of Bahco VDE screwdrivers.
  11. Hey guys. Currently in process of setting up my own business and looking for any advice on contractor insurance. I will be around various work sites, ranging from installing servers/networks to carrying out network security testing and all that sort of work. I am trying to find out all I need about insurance to cover myself/business. Any pit falls to avoid? any particular benefits to look out for? Anything at all would be great guys. Currently in the UK but insurance here pretty much works the same as in the states. Workers comp insurance??
  12. Great post and thanks for sharing the article. I never knew most of that and in many cases it just comes down to which sticker is on the tin. I would feel cheated having spent an extra $100 bucks or so. I think I will mostly stay with my normal tool brands and maybe in the future if I can pick something like Mac or SO up for a decent price, I might give it a try. For now though, I can't justify the cost when my good tools are working just fine. Thanks for sharing bud. Really helped me out.
  13. ItsaBanana

    Hot today

    Missouri is the hottest temps in the states I got to live through. Minnesota gets hot but nothing like Missouri. Was stuck in Fort Leonard Wood for nearly a year. Summer temps in full ACU's was awful. Few young guys died in basic training from heat stroke. Seemed to be non stop thunderstorms and tornadoes too.
  14. I have seen SO tools and just don't "get it". No prices in catalouges is annoying. Pushing folk towards high interest credit is another no-no for me. I simply can't see how their screwdrivers are any better than my CK,Wera ones. It is a major price hike over those. One fella I knew spent near £300 on a set of screwdrivers last year from SO. He says they are great and I am sure they are, but just how great? I also keep coming across people who have broke loads of these tools. Just makes ya wonder. Is it just the fanboy side that folk go for? So so many great top quality tool companies around now.
  15. Yes there are loads of free apps on iOS. Having developed for the iOS platform I can say that one of the reasons why most developers will charge is that Apple make us pay $99 to submit our apps. Then it goes through Apple testing. Android was always free to submit to. For using Macs in the workplace and knowing they will get pretty beat up on site, I simple save hundreds and buy them used. Right now buying a 2010 Macbook for work. The networking tools I use don't need the latest and greatest architecture so no point spending 2 grand when I can spend $400 to get the same results.
  16. I am also an Apple user/fan. I have an iPhone 5S and love it. Saves me money on having to buy new iPods. Last iPod was 5 months old when my wife accidentally put it in the laundry and ruined it. Previous phone was a Samsung Galaxy S3 and never liked Android. I also have an Android Samsung tablet and wife has an Galaxy S4. I just never got into it. Things on my Apple products just work. My Apple Airport Extreme has never once failed. My Macbook is great quality. I use Mac for work and what is great for me is that with it being Unix, I can run certain terminal features/programs that simply are a nightmare on Windows and when it is your career, every little helps and saves time and money. So Mac all the way. Along with Linux for Pen Testing/security. I have some home computers running Windows 8 and 10. I totally hate it. Would agree with all the posting on the cost of these phones. A damn rip off. My iPhone in the UK is currently £469. Apple makes a huge profit on these. I recently watched the Steve Jobs documentary and they stated Apple make over $300 profit!! per phone.
  17. Probably a stupid topic but one that has been on my mind. First up, my Father in law was a full on Snap-on guy. Had over $40,000 invested in Snap-on and Mac tools over the course of say 40 odd years. Was a heavy mechanic for John Deere and also work on oil rigs in New Mexico. He needed top end gear. Anyway, I am a systems engineer and all my tools are based around anti-static for electronics work, drills for installation of servers, workstations, multimeters and all that jazz. I do use good German VDE tools from CK. I use Wera too. Other main brands I use are Fluke, DeWalt, Makita and now starting to buy Milwaukee gear. Snap-On do have some tools that are of use to my career but they are obviously expensive and would they really be any better than say Wera, Facom, CK, Knipex? I look at my tools as an investment and also hope to someday hand them down to my sons. Another point is that getting Snappy in the UK is a lot tougher than what we had in Minnesota. There is only one SO guy here within 100 mile radius and he really just pushes for customers to open up high interest rate accounts. I buy all my tools cash. I don't like owning nobody for my stuff. Plus my mechanic had some SO tools break within 3 months of owning and the SO guy would not replace. Apparently over 40% fail rate on this brand. So negatives are that they are hard to get hold off and expensive. Am I just paying extra for a name? Are they worth the investment? Also looking at Mac tools. Just wanted to ask you guys on your opinion.
  18. Defo not too old. I was in the Army and had a medical discharge at 27 years old. Started university at 29 (2 years left) and started working in engineering at 31. Not too old at all bud. My university courses (computer science) has loads of people in their 40's. Geez, I even served with a guy from Ohio who joined the Army at 40 years old!
  19. They look sweet. Had a look on the UK Amazon site and their VDE tool range is same price as my CK tools, both are German companies. Knipex have some nice networking crimpers. Going to have to check them out. Thanks.
  20. I work with electronics both career and hobby and when precision and safety is paramount, then Fluke (for me) is the only way to go. Expensive yes but they are solid quality and last years. Few other great brands that I totally forget the name of right now. I got into Fluke at university when finding it they are pretty much the defacto brand for engineering. Now saying all that. If only needing a decent one for home use then Fluke is probably overkill. Review and look into the safety side of any multimeter you might buy. What is their true CAT certification? are they tested for safety by a third party?
  21. Great set up. Some top end tools. Been looking at Festool drills and seriously considering it. I just wonder if it would really make that huge of a difference over DeWalt,Milwaukee and Makita which are my main products.
  22. Yeap I agree. I use BP Ultimate diesel and today it was £1.16 per litre. I think it is like 70% tax on UK fuel?? When I lived in the states, I loved paying around $3 for a gallon.
  23. Ticks are a nightmare. We had major problem with them during basic training down in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Some folk found ticks in very private areas lol. Gotta agree with not have chickens etc around bull breeds. I owned a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and they seem to have that baiting instinct for those types of animals. But they were bred in England for ratting so forth. Love American Bulldogs. I see there are a few breeders who have some orignal bulldog stock from the 1800's.
  24. Love Wales. Beautiful country. I am in the crazy part of the UK, Northern Ireland.
  25. I use CK tools (German tools) and they are great. Very good quality. Same price range as Wera, Bahco. As mentioned above, the Facom range is excellent. I am stocking up on their anti-static handtools for my career. Worth every last penny. Especially VDE tools when your life is on the line.
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